President Calls for Action on Economic Stimulus and Aviation Security
The South Lawn

3:05 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Laura and I are looking forward to our
meeting with the Putins in Crawford -- spend a couple of days down in
Texas, working on international affairs.

And I hope the Congress works hard on two issues. First,
they must work day and night to get an airline security bill to my
desk. We're making good progress, and the members of
Congress must continue to work hard to get a bill. And
secondly, I've laid out some ideas on an economic stimulus package, one
that encourages consumer spending. Part of it is to
encourage business investment, and part of it is to take care of
workers who have been affected by the September 11th tragedy.

I hope the Senate will be able to move a bill quickly and to get it
into conference and work out the differences. I look forward
to signing legislation on both airline security and economic
stimulus. My administration is willing to work with the
parties to forge the compromise necessary to get a piece of
legislation. The American people expect
progress. And I do, too.

And so I hope we can get something done. In the
meantime, we're making great strides for making the world more
peaceful, as we work closely with Russia for security for all the
people of the world, as well as our own nation.